Newscasts - Asia Markets Briefing: Chinese property measures fail to impress investors

Artisan Partners Asset Management

14/11/2024 09:07

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Source: 'Reuters - Business videos'

Description: Beijing's latest measures to revive the mainland and Hong Kong
property sectors failed to excite investors on Thursday. House price data
follows on Friday, along with an update on the country's retail sales for
October.
Short Link: https://refini.tv/4et3J2s

Video Transcript:

New measures to support Chinese property fail to impress investors. Welcome to
Asia Markets Briefing. I'm Thomas Warner. Beijing's latest measures to revive
Mainland and Hong Kong property have failed to excite investors. A tax cut on
apartment sales is being extended to include slightly larger properties, but
as with last week's economic stimulus package, the measures were hardly the
bazooka that some in the market were hoping for. So, it was the real estate
sector that was weighing on the Shanghai Composite and in turn, the wider
regional index. Korea’s KOSPI stemmed the bleeding after crashing to a
one-year low on Wednesday. The Hang Seng took an even bigger knock than
Shanghai from that weaker than expected property update. And the Nikkei was
hit by concern about what Trump tariffs might mean for Japanese tech despite
further weakening for the Yen. US Dollar climbed above JPY156.00 for the first
time since July on Thursday. US currency has been on a bull run since the
election and now stands at a one year high against its major peers and on
track for a fifth straight daily gain. But concern about the Yen prompted
Japan’s shadow Finance Minister Takeshi Shina to say that he believes
that the BOJ should raise interest rates in increments to at least 1%. He
blames what he calls, “an excessive degree of stimulus for unwelcome
falls in the value of the Japanese currency.” The BOJ next meets for a
rate review on December 18 and 19. Bond traders, in the meantime, have raised
their bets on a rate cut from the Fed next month. Markets now suggest that's
more than 83% likely following an as expected CPI print on Wednesday. But the
longer-term outlook is far less certain. Traders expect higher trade tariffs
and tighter immigration under the incoming Trump administration to fuel
inflation and potentially slow the Fed’s rate cutting cycle. Returning to
Asia now for some company updates, and Taiwan's Foxconn has posted a
better-than-expected 14% rise in quarterly profit. The world's largest
contract electronics maker also says that it expects robust growth in its AI
server business next year. The Apple and NVIDIA supplier thinks that AI
servers will account for 50% of its total server revenue next year. Sweeping
changes afoot in China's burgeoning EV sector. The high end Zeekr will take
control of Lincoln Co, a sister brand owned by Geely and Volvo Cars, as
according to two sources with direct knowledge of the plans. It's the first
big restructuring move in a sweeping overhaul planned by Geely Holding. It's
the parent company of all three automakers. And there's an update on the
potential sale of Seven & i Holdings. US Investors Artisan partners have
called on the company's special committee to consider holding a competitive
bidding process, given that there are now two bids on the table. Artisan
portfolio manager Ben Herrick wants to see an auction to explore additional
third-party interest. And coming up on Friday, there's a slew of economic data
out of China, including house prices, but it's retail sales figures that are
likely to be top of the agenda. Reuters polling suggests in October print of
3.8% up from 3.2% the month before. Luxury manufacturers around the world are
hoping for signs of strength from Chinese consumers. And that is your Asia
Markets Briefing